Cops say NJ businessman owes $1 million in unpaid tolls

A New Jersey trucking fleet's million-dollar toll evasion scheme came to a screeching halt on Thursday when its owner was arrested and charged with theft.

State Police said EAB Transport/Do It Right Trucking — run by Lester Morales, 34, of Little Ferry — ran up $1 million in unpaid tolls and administrative fees.

State Police said the company had about 100 trucks going through tolls more than 100 times a day using a delinquent E-ZPass account for 13 months.

"Lester Morales was responsible for operating his company, Do it Right Trucking, but unfortunately he was doing it wrong by racking up more than $1 million in unpaid tolls and administrative fees," said Col. Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

Morales was arrested Thursday at Newark Liberty International Airport after police learned that he was about to board a flight for Aruba.

Morales will be prosecuted on the theft charge in Middlesex County.

“People who cheat the system shift the burden of paying for the operation and maintenance of the Turnpike and Parkway to the honest toll-paying motorists who use those roads every day,” New Jersey Turnpike Authority Executive Director Joseph W. Mrozek said Friday in a statement.

Morales was being held without bail at the Middlesex County jail. It was not immediately clear Friday if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.